Bell-Boeing awarded contract for materials, support of V-22 Osprey

A V-22 Osprey makes its final approach for landing on the island of Crete, Greece, for a stopover on February 24, 2010. Photo by Paul Farley/U.S. Navy

Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Bell-Boeing has been awarded a modified contract to procure materials and support for the delivery of seven MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft for the U.S. Navy.

The deal, announced Thursday by the Department of Defense, is worth more than $19.6 million under the terms of a firm-fixed-price contract, meaning that additional costs that potentially accumulated by Bell-Boeing will not be reimbursed.

The Pentagon said contract between the U.S. Navy and Bell-Boeing will provide for "acquisition of additional long-lead material and associated efforts" in order to deliver seven MV-22 Osprey aircraft to the Navy, which are also heavily used by U.S. Marine Corps forces in their joint operations with the Navy.

The majority of work on the contract will be in Ridley Park, Pa., with the rest of the completed in Fort Worth and Amarillo in Texas.

Work on the contract is expected to be completed in December 2018.

U.S. Navy aircraft procurement funds from fiscal year 2018 for the full value of the contract have been obligated at the time of award and do not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.